URL : https://www.valka.cz/LT-vz-34-t14565#395134
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Light tank LT vz. 34
It was actually created as a private initiative of ČKD, after the failure of the vz. 33 tank. The army adopted it into armament and, ironically, only afterwards subsequently issued specifications. This was based on the so-called "Tank Question Report" of 1934, which specified the need for new light tank assets to support cavalry and infantry. A categorization was thus created:
Category II - a tank with 15 mm armour Category II a - cavalry tank for cooperation with cavalry and infantry units, when attacking unprepared defensive positions, armour of such tanks was specified - frontal 25 mm thick, side 15 mm thick Category II b - tank for infantry support with 25 mm armour on the whole tank All these tanks were to be armed with a 37 mm calibre gun and two heavy machine guns. Category III - medium tanks with 32 mm armour and 47 mm calibre cannon, these vehicles were to be used to attack prepared defensive positions and to fight enemy tanks.
ČKD submitted a design for the P-II vehicle, which was a light tank weighing 7.5 t and measuring approximately 4.6 m in length. Its armament was to consist of 2 heavy machine guns and a 37 mm cannon.
The construction of the tank consisted of steel plates supplied by the Poldi Kladno steelworks. Already then they had problems with the quality of the supplied armour and during the construction of the first batch it cracked, so the factory had to replace it with others. The hull is built of steel profiles on which flat armour plates were applied or screwed. All such joints were watertight up to a height of 1 m. The fighting compartment was separated from the engine compartment by a 3 mm bulkhead, access to the engine was provided by a door in the bulkhead. The interior of the vehicle was designed in such a way that parts of the crew's uniform could not be caught. The driver and radio operator were seated in the front of the vehicle on leather seats. The driver had two 300x75 mm viewing windows which could be protected by two screens. A periscope was mounted in the inner aperture to allow observation at 25°.
In the centre of the front wall of the hull, a heavy ZB vz. 35 machine gun was mounted in a spherical tray, with a 20° sight and a -10° to +25° bearing. Access to the combat part of the vehicle was provided by a hatch of the command dome on the turret and another in the hull floor. The turret ring occupies the entire width of the ceiling of the fighting compartment with a ball track diameter of 1,265 mm, with a special tunnel at the rear for the radiator fan.
Propulsion was provided by a four-stroke four-cylinder water-cooled engine with SV valve train. The drive wheels had 19 teeth with a width of 20 mm. On each side there were eight running wheels fitted with 340x80mm rubber hoops. The wheels were always mounted in pairs on a common pin in the middle, which formed the frame. Each pair of frames formed a bogie suspended by leaf springs. Thus 2 pairs on each side. The guide wheels were 395x40 mm and were suspended from a sprung arm which was used to tension the tracks. The belt had a total of 107 links measuring 272x90 mm(width x length), with the upper part of the belt running over two supporting pulleys and teeth through a padded wooden trough.
The vehicle was steered by two directional couplings and their brakes, mechanically operated by two horizontal levers in front of the driver. The foot brake acted on the main clutch, and the driving wheel brakes on the directional clutches. The clutches are said to have held the vehicle on a 10% gradient.
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LT vz.34 Slovak Army The first tanks LT vz.34 probably arrived in Slovakia in early 1936 (possibly at the turn of 1935/36), when the PÚV-3 originally stationed in Milovice was moved to Turčianske sv. Martin. In 11/1938 the decision was made to reinforce PÚV-3 with additional tanks LT vz.34 and the number of tanks was increased to 27. After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 3/1939, the Slovak Army inherited these 27 tanks. As of 5/1939, 18 tanks were in active service, the rest were stored. After the PÚV was built, there were nine tanks in its 1st Battalion LT vz.34. After a change in the regiment's organization, the number of tanks in I. Battalion was increased to 21 tanks LT vz.34. Two more tanks were in reserve and the last four formed the MNO's disposable reserve. The tanks were used for training due to their obsolescence, but by 1 January 1942 all tanks were no longer serviceable. However, part of the vehicles (16 pcs) were used for training until mid-1943. From mid-1943 onwards, the tanks were stored in garages and in the open air as unserviceable and were no longer used for training. This state of affairs persisted until the uprising. The tanks were concentrated in barracks in Turčianske sv. Martin. When German troops approached, evacuation was ordered. Most of the tanks not in use were evacuated by train to Môťová. On 21 September 1944, ten tanks were captured by German troops (Panzer-Division Tatra) in the barracks of occupied Turčianske sv. Martin. These tanks were sent to Oppeln and from there they arrived on 19 October 1944 at the Skoda Works in Pilsen, where they were to be repaired. It was planned to deliver them to Croatia. However, an uninformed German military supervisory officer decided to dismantle and scrap them. The turrets were to be rearmed with a pair of vz.35 machine guns and were to be used as armament for the forts. The SS Ordnance authorities scrambled for them, but it was too late. The vehicles were disposed of, the turrets themselves also did not make it into the armament of the fortress units. The remaining 17 tanks were kept in rebel assault vehicle status until 20 October 1944. During the retreat, some were used as dug-in firing posts. An unknown number of tanks LT vz.34 were buried in the vicinity of Svätý Kříž nad Hronom, Trnavá Hora and Jalná in the period from 19 September 1944 - 23 September 1944. It is reported that on 3 October 1944 these tanks were abandoned by the crews during their retreat and fell into the hands of German troops. The remaining tanks were captured by German troops in Môťová. In the report on the condition of tanks from 28.10.1944 these tanks are not listed there. It is possible that some LT vz.34 were transported by the Germans on a train transport from Môťová dispatched on 4.10.1944.
Considering the photo below, it seems that this machine was also looted in the Martin barracks (despite the discrepancy in published information about the looted dozen tanks with known registration numbers).
Note on the looted tanks in the barracks in Martin: Generally, the literature reports the capture of ten LT vz. 34 in Martin. Their registration numbers are known, but among them the tank with the registration no. 13.506 nepatril. The photo of this tank attached in this post is indeed from the Martin barracks. The question remains whether this is one of the tanks left by the insurgents in the barracks (a machine stripped of its armament could be evidence for this claim) or whether it is a vehicle acquired later that was withdrawn to the barracks. The data on the registration numbers probably comes from the work of Ivan Bajtoš, which may be a source of error. In that case, it is questionable whether the number of tanks left in the barracks fits, or whether their registration numbers match.
Marian Uhrin - Pluk Útočnej vozby 1944, Museum of the Slovak National Uprising, year of publication 2012, ISBN: 978-80-89514-14-4 Ivan Bajtoš - History of the Slovak Assault Wagon Regiment 1939-1944, part 2, p.203, manuscript, Košice 1987 Ivo Pejčoch, Oldřich Pejs - Obrněná technika 6, Central Europe 1919-1945 Part I, ARES publishing house, Prague 2005, ISBN 80-86158-46-2 Vladimír Francev, Karel Trojánek - Czechoslovak tanks 1930-1945, Photo album part 1, Capricorn publications, year of publication 2013, ISBN: 978-80-87578-05-6 Vladimír Francev - LT vz.38 Tank, který se povedl - family portrait,Svět křídel publishing house, year of publication 2019, ISBN: 978-80-7573-057-2 www.ebay.de
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Nemeckí vojaci pri ukoristenom slovenskom tanku LT vz.34 (ev.č. 13.506) a tančíku vz.33 (ev.č. V-13.475). Podľa prostredia na snímke odhadujem, že ide o záber z martinských kasární.
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URL : https://www.valka.cz/LT-vz-34-t14565#122180
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Dear, on foreign and domestic websites I've stumbled upon a confusion of the concepts of the light tank company's FAQ, where under the brand Praga assimilated to the prototype and serial tank LT vz. 34 (factory designation: P-II) with a prototype tank P-II-a.
Therefore, I allow for easier identification to offer two photos.
Sources: Defunct Enterprise archive VHJ CKD Praha n. c., a photo series of 110 G. In. Francev, C. Clement: Czechoslovak armored fighting vehicles 1918-1948, Schiffer Publ., 1997, ISBN: 0-7643-0141-1 In. Francev, C. Clement: Czechoslovak armored vehicles 1918-1948, Ares, Prague 1999, ISBN: 80-86158-06-3 George Tintěra: personal notes from the years 1970-1990.
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Prototyp tanku P-II-a s armádním identifikačním číslem: 19.003, během zkoušek.
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Lehký tank LT vz. 34 s armádním identifikačním číslem: 13.502.
URL : https://www.valka.cz/LT-vz-34-t14565#148516
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LT vz.34 ev.č.13.523 na výstave ukoristenej techniky vo Viedni.
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Skúšobné jazdy, ev.č.13.529 jeseň/podzim 1935.
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Nemcami zabavené tanky po obsadení v 3/1939.
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URL : https://www.valka.cz/LT-vz-34-t14565#149296
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